Who's your favorite Disney princess?

[The Count]

Yeah... And Oogie Boogie.

BTW: I read a fic where the campers/characters from the original Total Drama Island group were cast as Disney villains capturing their respective princesses in a Kingdom Hearts crossover. I've kind of expanded on that roster, just need to search the Disney Wiki for a last few additions so each villain has their respective princess.

 

[Slackbot]

A bit late to the party here...

I don't care for the whole Disney Princess thing. It strikes a sour note with me, especially since most of these pretty, fluffy creatures exists to fall in "true love" with someone they just met. I'm way too much of a cynic to swallow that. "Some day my prince will come"? Get a life, girl.

I could go on and on about sucky portrayals of women, but I think you've all heard it before. And I don't really mean that I think the Disney Princess brand is bad; it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. My niece used to love 'em, though. *shrug*

That said, if I had to pick a few I liked (though they may not all be part of the brand):

3) Mulan. There's a lady with guts. She's motivated by her need to protect her family and its honor rather than to scamper pitifully after some man. Plus, as a RHPS shadowcast alumnus, I have a soft spot for women who crossdresses.

2) Merida. Another girl who definitely isn't in it for romance. She'll likely find her prince...and very likely he'll become a prince by marrying her.

1) Vanellope Von Schweetz. I love a gutsy underdog. When I first saw the previews I thought I'd hate her, as the "smartarse kid" cliche gets on my nerves big-time. (I might have liked Dinosaurs if it hadn't been for that annoying baby.) But she avoided falling into that trap, and by the end I was rooting hard for her. Although she's more a princess than Mulan, Alice, or Belle, we won't see her in the lineup unless they redesign her to be more than 2.5 heads tall. But, y'know, if they did they could have fun with the candy-themed outfits...

Honorable mention goes to Queen Elsa, who was a princess before her coronation. There are a lot of reasons to like her--she strikes just the right notes for me--but one moment stands out in my memory: when she said to her sister "You can't marry a man you just met." There's a woman with her head screwed on right--well, about that one issue, anyway.

 

[Drtooth]

Yeah... And Oogie Boogie.

Eh... Nightmare Before Christmas seems to be it's own brand overall.

But yeah, Disney villains rarely include many of the male villains, but I did see a calendar with an old school version of Peg Leg Pete. Back from when he was a true villain and not just a jerk.

I don't care for the whole Disney Princess thing. It strikes a sour note with me, especially since most of these pretty, fluffy creatures exists to fall in "true love" with someone they just met. I'm way too much of a cynic to swallow that. "Some day my prince will come"? Get a life, girl.

Yeah, there's definitely that, but that's all formula. Remember? it's what Yakko, Wakko, and Dot sang about in their brutally honest parody of Pocahontas. And the one time it doesn't happen (Brave), there's accusations that the Princess is gay.

My bigger problem overall is this whole brands for boys and girls thing. It's not completely horrible, but what about unisex appeal characters? What Disney needs to make is a line called "Disney's wacky Sidekicks." THAT appeals to me. Yeah, I like Aladdin, but I watch it for the Genie and Iago... I watch Lion King for the hyenas and Timon and Pumbaa (and I'm not alone if the TV series focused on them), and there's a reason the sequel to Finding Nemo's all about Dory. Look at the explosion of Olaf. Sure, they're all singing Let it Go, but kids are carrying around Olaf plush toys.

 

[Slackbot]

And the one time it doesn't happen (Brave), there's accusations that the Princess is gay.

I would love to see a lesbian or bi Disney princess. But saying that Merida is gay just because she doesn't feel like being bred to someone she doesn't know is silly. We see no sign that she has any interest in women.

 

[Dominicboo1]

I would love to see a lesbian or bi Disney princess. But saying that Merida is gay just because she doesn't feel like being bred to someone she doesn't know is silly. We see no sign that she has any interest in women.

I had an idea for a gay princess and gay prince that are siblings, but the princess has to get married, but she's put under the stereotypical sleeping spell and her brother goes to save her (almost Frozen in a way but not exactly) with a female knight who loves his sister and the prince she's supposed to marry, but the prince is in love with other prince....

 

[Drtooth]

I would love to see a lesbian or bi Disney princess. But saying that Merida is gay just because she doesn't feel like being bred to someone she doesn't know is silly. We see no sign that she has any interest in women.

Well, you know the internet...

And she totally ended up with someone at the end in one of the original passes of the script. And she's totally checking the biggest, most muscular one out at the end of the movie. But my main point is, they have a formula and once they try to deviate from it, you get these chuckleheads complaining about it. Brave is full of Princess movie trope subversions. The most powerful moment in the movie for me was when the mother threw the bow into the fire... then quickly pulled it out with a "what have I done" expression on her face. You gotta admit, that was the most original thing you''ll ever see in these films. The mother wasn't a shrill harpy purposely trying to crush her daughter's dream, she actually seemed genuinely worried about her.

As for gay characters in a Disney movie... ehhh... we're not there yet. I support the idea of more of a same sex presence in the media, but some of it seems like too much too soon, and it has to be slowly eased into. Besides, I just get the feeling that a gay cartoon character translates into goofy caricature that's pretty funny, but really not what you'd want. I keep thinking Ogo from Robot and Monster... the creepy, flaming, stalker. Now it's supposed to be ambiguous, but not well hidden. Funny for a cartoon character, terrible to make a statement. Especially since it basically took Happy Endings (a live action adult sitcom) to make the most unstereotypical gay character a member of the cast. If adult television can't muster maturity and depth for some time, I don't see children focused animation doing that for some time.

 

[Slackbot]

The most powerful moment in the movie for me was when the mother threw the bow into the fire... then quickly pulled it out with a "what have I done" expression on her face. You gotta admit, that was the most original thing you''ll ever see in these films. The mother wasn't a shrill harpy purposely trying to crush her daughter's dream, she actually seemed genuinely worried about her.

That was a good moment. What I took away from it was that she was trying to raise her daughter properly, but she wasn't sure how. Parenthood is hard, and issues like this aren't black and white. Parents can make mistakes, bad ones, while truly thinking they're doing what's right. That's very realistic writing.

As for gay characters in a Disney movie... ehhh... we're not there yet. I support the idea of more of a same sex presence in the media, but some of it seems like too much too soon, and it has to be slowly eased into.

Somebody has to take the first step. Doesn't have to be the prince or princess, but maybe one or two of the strong secondaries. Say, two knights or retainers who are a team on duty and off. But, yeah, we're not there yet. We only just got an African-American princess, for crying out loud.

Besides, I just get the feeling that a gay cartoon character translates into goofy caricature that's pretty funny, but really not what you'd want. I keep thinking Ogo from Robot and Monster... the creepy, flaming, stalker.

 

[The Count]

Haven't seen the newer movies like Brave, Monsters U, Frozen, or others. Whatdya want? I don't go out to the movies that often. Heck, I still haven't gone to see Maleficent. But on the subject of unconventional characters, I'll put in my support for Quest for Camelot. An unsung WB animated movie that featured none of their stock of recognizable toons, but it did have a blind shepherd boy as its male lead character, even if he was more of the #2 in the hero structure to the Merida-like princess.

 

[Drtooth]

Somebody has to take the first step. Doesn't have to be the prince or princess, but maybe one or two of the strong secondaries. Say, two knights or retainers who are a team on duty and off. But, yeah, we're not there yet. We only just got an African-American princess, for crying out loud.

Let's not forget the ones that really spoil it are the handful of extremely vocal fire and brimstone types. The overwhelming fear of them is what holds everyone back. Archie comics was very courageous with their Kevin Keeler character, and thankfully there was more positive feedback than negative. And the negative feedback got much, MUCH more negative feedback from everyone else. it also sent the message that the lamest, least hip comic book company, one that's so litigious about the purity of the characters that they forbid fan fiction and sued an inoffensive rock duo for using one of the character names... a comic company that published Christian Archie comics... even they can accept gays. Even before they accepted KISS and Zombies (when everyone else got sick of zombies, BTW)... heck its 2013 FCBD digest reprinted a story referencing Ashley Simpson! That's the squarest you can get. That should mean something, but it's going to realistically be a slow process.

Then again, I don't think that Princess/Prince stuff is something they should continuously strive for. While the oversaturized marketplace of merchandise is kinda annoying, I really like the concept of Doc McStuffins. It's the only girl brand they have that isn't Fairies or Princesses, and that's a strong statement to make. It means they're trying to get girls out of that niche. And I still think they could get a Marvel Girls product line. Yeah, Big Bertha might make a terrible fashion doll, but you have the likes of Storm, Black Cat, Rogue, Spider-Girl (if you wanna get counterpart-y)... If DC, a comic company that has nothing but screw ups that annoy the fanbase, can have Wonder Woman/Harley Quinn merchandise aimed towards young women, a tight ship like Marvel/Disney should be able to shove one of them on a girl's T-Shirt. I'd hope to see a line of Leia and Amadalla/Pademe stuff for girls once the Disney focused Star Wars stuff comes in. And there should really be a Miss Piggy/Janice focus for girl's merchandise (which I throw in because, well... this site).

But above all, I really think Disney does its best when it strays as far from Princessy movies as possible. Look at Lilo and Stitch. A show that spawned 3 DTV sequels, a TV show, and 2 anime. That was a real cash cow at the time, and the furthest thing ever from a Princess movie there is. I wish more of those films struck a bigger chord with the audiences. There was a lot more emotion and feeling in Wreck-it-Ralph than most of those films to me.

 

[Dominicboo1]

That was a good moment. What I took away from it was that she was trying to raise her daughter properly, but she wasn't sure how. Parenthood is hard, and issues like this aren't black and white. Parents can make mistakes, bad ones, while truly thinking they're doing what's right. That's very realistic writing.

Somebody has to take the first step. Doesn't have to be the prince or princess, but maybe one or two of the strong secondaries. Say, two knights or retainers who are a team on duty and off. But, yeah, we're not there yet. We only just got an African-American princess, for crying out loud.

Well at least the PG rated ParaNorman has a gay guy, and he's done pretty well in my opinion. He's a decent brother.....not the kind that isn't allowed near his brother (as I regret is the case even in real life), polite to the main girl (no we are not mysognistic.....), and is strong as opposed to feminine and princess-like....I mean name one gay guy that's really like that)
All my friends:YOU!
Me:You got me.....